CAMDEN — The Camden Hannaford grocery store and Camden-Rockport police have issued a challenge to the community: Fill the cruisers with Helping Hands boxes that will be distributed to food pantries in the Midcoast.

Between the hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the store will be loading boxes, which customers purchase for $10 each, into the backs of the Camden and Rockport cruisers, while the police officers on duty will transport them to the Camden Area Food Pantry in Camden.

There, they will be picked up by volunteers and distributed to other pantries.

Every year, Store Manager Bob Josselyn stacks the Helping Hands boxes, which contain dry groceries — six meals to a box — and generous customers purchase them for the food pantry.

So far this year, 1,600 boxes have been sold and taken to the pantries. Now, the time has come for the final push, and Josselyn, as well as Camden-Rockport Police Chief Randy Gagne are encouraging the community to help out to really fill local pantries this holiday season.

On Dec. 21, the cruisers will be filled with more boxes, as many as the community will purchase. The police department SUVs are big, so lots of support is anticipated to keep the generosity rolling!

Join the effort and support Operation Fill the Cruisers on Saturday, Dec. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.